Clutch mechanism for outboard transmissions



31, 1935. H, MATHIAS CLUTCH MECHANISM FOR OUTBORD TRANSMJISSIONS 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed July 24. 1935 ATTO R N EY Dec. 31, 1935. H. L. MA'rHlAs 2,026,481

` CLUTCH MECHANISM FOR OUTBOARD TRANSMISSIONS Filed July 24. 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet '2 Henry /Va faim@ /4 i mfg/Ww Puentes Dsc. si, 193s UNITED STATES PATENT; oFFicE 'V :maar l CLUTCH DIECHANISM FOB 011mm TMNSMISSIONS Henry L. Mathias, Amsterdam. N. Y. Application .my :4. ma, send N0. sans 1 calm. (ci. isz-azi This invention relates to transmissions for outboard and inboard yengines for boats 'or for any purpose wherein it is desired to provide a forward or reverse drive with a neutral position s between power and driven shaftsand has for the primary object the provision of a device of the above stated character which will be inexpensive to manufacture and may be readily adapted to conventional units without undue alterations to said umts and which will be extremely easy to operate.

Another object of this invention i's the pro,-

vision of continuously meshing gears andclutches for the transmission whereby wear on 'u said gears will be reduced to a minimum and the clutches providing shock absorbing means to reduce strain on the various units to a minimum and permitsmooth starting of the driven unit by the drive unit.

With these and otherobjects in view this invention consists in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

For a complte understanding of my invention, reference is to be had to the following description and accompany drawings,

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section illustrating the application of my invention to an outboard engine mounted on a fragmentary portion of a boat.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the transmission.

35 Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3--3 of Figure l. .v

Figure 4 is a perspective view'illustrating a drive nut forming a part of the clutch.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 40 I-S of Figure l.

Figure 8 is an enlarged side elevation illus-I trating one of the transmission gears having inv 50 teg'ral therewith a portion of a clutch.

While this invention will be described as applied to an outboard engine for boats, it is to bel understood that its application to other types of power mediums may be successfully'accom- 55 plished. V

Referring in detail to the drawings. the numeral l indicates an outboard engine of the conventional type having a power shaft housing 2 carrying a transmission housing 3 and the latter is provided intermediate its ends with a laterally extending propeller shaft housing 4. The drive 5 shaft housing 2 adjacent the engine i is pivoted to an attaching bracket S employed for clamping the engine to the sternof the boat and to adjust the housing perpendicularly to various Sterns of boats. 'rne bracket carries slotted guide 1 arms I to which a bearing block t' is adjustably secured by bolts 1 extending through the slots and having wing nuts I. 'Ihe housing bears against the block during forward drive of the boat, and to prevent the housing from moving away from the block or the engine pivoting on the bracket during reverse drive, alatch s is provided and is canied by thehbusing 2 and engages the block I'. A trigger Il extends parallel with the transmission housing I and in advance thereof and is pivoted to a bracket I2 carried by the upper end of the on housing. 'I'he pivoted end of the trigger is in the form of a bell crank to which is pivoted a rod- I3 connected to the latch 9. The latch is of the spring-pressed type normally urged inengagement with the bearing block l' and when the transmission housing comes in close proximity to the bottom lof a body of water or a submerged object, the trigger Il will be rocked upon its pivot freeing the latch s fromits keeper, permitting the engine to pivot on the bracket 5, causing the transmission and propeller of the engineto swingupwardly in the water and pass over the obstruction without injury.

'Ihe drive shaft of the engine is indicated at Il, and its connection to the engine is in any conventional .manner so that the shaft-will be driven by the engine besides being able to be 40 moved upwardly and downwardly in the housing 2 by a control lever I5. The control lever l5 is pivoted to a bracket I6 -on the housing 2 and is y provided with a forked end operating lbetween anti-friction bearings I1'A carried by the shaft 45 so that a downward movement of the free end of the control lever will impart an upward movement to the drive shaft and vice versa when said control lever is moved upwardly. v The drive shaft Il extends downwardly in the transmission housing and is rotatably and slidably supported in a bearing I1 at the lower end of the transmission housing.. Oppositely arranged gears Il` and lI9 are journaled on the drive shaft and spaced apart by a sleeve, 20 and mesh with a gear 55 2| secured to a propeller shaft 22 journaled in suitable bearings carried by the propeller housing 4. A propeller 24 is secured to the shaft 22 and is arranged in a plane slightly above the lower end of the transmission housing, as will be seen from Figure 1. The construction of the gears I8 and I9 is identical and each is provided with a comparatively long hub 25 journaled in a bearing 26 carried by the transmission housing. Secured or fixed to the hubs of the gears I8 and I9 are threaded elements 21 forming parts of clutches 28. Cup-shaped clutch elements 29 are journaled on the hubs 25 and are internally threaded to mesh with the threads of the clutch elements 21. Friction washers 30 are mounted on the hubs between the clutch elements 21 and 29. Coil springs 3| are mounted on the hubs and have one of their ends fixed to the clutch elements 29, while their other ends are xed to the hubs 25 providing a yieldable drive between the clutch elements 29 and the hubs of the gears I8 and I 9. The clutch elements 29 are provided with oppositely arranged lugs 32 and the drive shaft I4 has secured thereto pins 33 movable into and out of engagement with the lugs by the upward and downward movement of the drive shaft. It is to be understood the gears I8 and I9 each have a clutch and when the drive shaft is moved downwardly to engage one of the pins with the lugs of the clutch for the gear I8 will cause rotation of the propeller in one direction and a reverse rotation of the propeller is obtained by moving the drive shaft in an opposite endwise direction to engage one of the pins with the clutch of the gear I 9. When both pins of the drive shaft are positioned to disengage both clutches the transmission is in neutral position, that is, the drive between the power shaft I4 and the propeller shaft is interrupted. Thus it will be seen that the transmission is capable of providing to the propeller forward and reverse speeds and a neutral position which will permit the propeller to remain idle during the running of the engine.

The springs and clutch elements comprising the clutches 28 provide shock absorbing mediums adapted to absorb sudden starting of the propeller shaft by the drive shaft when the clutches are engaged. As the operations of the clutches are identical a specic description of one is thought suiiicient. With the engine running and the adiustment of the drive shaft to bring a. pin into engagement with the lugs of a clutch, the clutch element 29 is threaded onto the clutch element 21 and as the clutch element 29 threads 5 onto the clutch element 21 the spring 3l is tensioned slowly starting the respective gear of the transmission in rotation to take up the load of the propeller and as the clutch element 29 is fully threaded onto the clutch element 21 it binds m the washer 30 between said clutch elements 29 and 21 providing a positive drive between said clutch elements permitting a drive from the drive shaft to the propeller shaft through the respective gears of the transmission. When the pin of 15 the drive shaft is disengaged from the lugs 32 of the clutch, the spring 3| being under tension unwinds causing a reverse rotation of the clutch element 29 and bringing about an unthreading thereof from the clutch element 21 freeing the 20 binding action upon the friction plate or washer 30 between the clutch elements 21 and 29. A clutch of this character relies upon the rotation of the drive shaft for its rotation, consequently rendering the engagement of the clutch com- 25 paratively easy to the operator as the operator only shifts the power shaft I4 endwise to start the engagement of the clutch.

While I have shown and described the pre- 30 ferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that minor changes in construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, as claimed.

Having described the invention, I claim:

A clutch mechanism for outboard transmissions comprising an endwise movable power shaft,

a gear journaled on said shaft, a cup-shaped clutch element journaled on the gear and nter- 40 nally threaded, a shock absorbing spring secured to the gear and to said clutch element, a threaded clutch element secured to the gear, lugs formed on the rst-named clutch element, a pin secured to the power shaft, and a pivotally mounted con- 45 trol lever connected to the power shaft for imparting movement to the latter in an endwise direction vfor engaging and disengaging the pin with said lugs.

HENRY L. MATHIAS. 50 

